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ROLLS-ROYCE ANNOUNCES ‘THE GREAT EIGHT PHANTOMS’ – A ROLLS-ROYCE EXHIBITION WILL BE AT BONHAMS AND ‘SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL’S PHANTOM II’ WILL BE THIRD GREAT PHANTOM TO JOIN EXHIBITION

Wed Jul 05 01:00:00 CEST 2017 Press Release

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Today, Rolls-Royce has announced the Mayfair location for ‘The Great Eight Phantoms’ - A Rolls-Royce Exhibition. The exhibition will take place at Bonhams on Bond Street, London, the heart of the luxury world. Rolls-Royce also announced that the third Great Phantom to join the exhibition will be Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Phantom II Continental.

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Today, Rolls-Royce has announced the Mayfair location for ‘The
Great Eight Phantoms’ - A Rolls-Royce Exhibition. The exhibition
will take place at Bonhams on Bond Street, London, the heart of the
luxury world. Rolls-Royce also announced that the third Great
Phantom to join the exhibition will be Sir Malcolm Campbell’s
Phantom II Continental.

Need for speed: Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Phantom II

At the height of his pursuit of a new land speed record in the
1930’s, Sir Malcolm Campbell began a relationship with Rolls-Royce
that would take him to glory and help him celebrate it.

At the end of 1932 Campbell had won prestigious Grand Prix
races, broken the land speed world record not once but six times, and
had been knighted by King George V. He had nothing left to prove. He
was the fastest man on land and yet, as restless as ever, he wanted to
take a crack at the 300mph barrier, the automotive equivalent of the
four-minute mile. He believed that the only engine that could power
his Blue Bird to this speed was a 36.5L Rolls-Royce R aero engine,
which generated a staggering 2,300 horsepower.

On 22 February 1933, Blue Bird's first run with the Rolls-Royce
engine set a new world land speed record of 272 miles per hour (438
km/h) at Daytona Beach, Florida. A month later, Campbell celebrated by
taking personal delivery of a new Phantom II Continental, registration
AGO 1.

The short-wheelbase Continental had been introduced in 1930 as a
‘sportier’ version of the Phantom II, which had debuted a year
earlier. The Continental, with its improved balance and springing, was
capable of 95mph – modest by Campbell's standards, but positively
head-spinning for a car weighing almost two and a half tons.

The Motor magazine commented that the Phantom II Continental was
'Powerful, docile, delightfully easy to control and a thoroughbred, it
behaves in a manner which is difficult to convey without seeming to over-praise.”

Although AGO 1 was bodied by coachbuilders Barker as a
'standardised touring saloon', there were some Bespoke modifications
ordered by Campbell. These included a wireless set, fire extinguisher,
spotlight, an exhaust pipe specified as nine-inches longer than the
norm (probably to create an exhaust note closer to the Blue Bird's
roar), a klaxon horn, a Bosch horn and a siren. Clearly this king of
speed wanted people to know he was coming through! Even on public
roads, Campbell’s fondness for going fast was well known.

And the colour? Pale blue, of course, with darker blue leather
trim and a black roof. The pearlescent glow of the bodywork was
apparently achieved by Rolls-Royce's use of ground herring scales in
the paint. Campbell must have been pleased, for he penned a
promotional brochure for the Phantom II entitled ‘The best
Rolls-Royce yet produced,’

BonhamsBonhams and the Rolls-Royce marque have
long been entwined, with some of the most historically significant and
luxurious models crossing the block at the international auction
house’s sales over the years. Indeed, Bonhams hold the world-auction
record for the marque with the sale of ‘The Corgi’ 1912 Silver Ghost
at £4,705,000 in 2012.

The Silver Ghost was in production until 1925 and replaced by
another legendary model, the New Phantom. In December 2016, Bonhams
sold one of the most famous Rolls-Royce Phantoms ever built - the 1926
Rolls-Royce Phantom I, nicknamed ‘The Phantom of Love,’ which sold for
£561,500 at the Bond Street Sale. Commissioned by Clarence Warren
Gasque for his wife Maude, a Woolworth heiress, money was no object.
Gasque demanded that the style be French and that the car surpass the
luxury of any previous Rolls-Royce sold. He certainly had his way, as
the car’s painted ceiling, elegant polished satinwood, drinks cabinet,
ormolu clock and self-styled coat of arms affixed to the doors
combined to create a vehicle more akin to the throne room of
Versailles than a motor car. It is, without doubt, one of the very
finest examples of art and craftsmanship applied to an automobile, and
encapsulates the elegance and style that has come to embody Rolls-Royce.

James Knight, Group Motoring Chairman of Bonhams, commented,
‘‘We are delighted to be the venue for this singular celebration of
the Rolls-Royce Phantom, as Bonhams has had a long history with
Rolls-Royce. Bonhams has sold some of the most astounding Rolls-Royce
motor cars ever created, including ‘The Phantom of Love’ sold in
London earlier this year, The ex-Marlene Dietrich Phantom I ‘ and the
ex-Jack L. Warner Phantom I Transformal Phaeton.”

‘The Great Eight Phantoms’, a Rolls-Royce Exhibition, will take
place at Bonhams international flagship saleroom and galleries in New
Bond Street, London from 29 July till 2 August.